Dream Lover
by Smenzer
Summary: complete A PreXena Gabrielle dreams of a handsome man and a moon driping blood. Little does she know its the God of War and he needs a blood sacrifice! AresGabrielle RR!
1. Default Chapter

Title: Dream Lover

Author: Smenzer

Rating: PG

Pairing: Ares/Gabrielle

Archive: Yes, please. Let me know if you take it, OK?

Teaser: A pre-Xena Gabrielle dreams of a handsome man. But what will happen when she finds him & realizes it's the God of War?

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. They belong to Studios USA or 

Whoever owns the Rights to Xena: Warrior Princess. 

Author's Note: This story takes place before Gabrielle met Xena. 

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Gabrielle blinked, startled to find herself surrounded by fog. She had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in her own bed. She glanced down at herself and saw she was still wearing her nightgown. The dense fog, as thick as clumps of white cotton, swirled around her as it caressed her with dampness. Shivering now, both from cold as well from fright, she turned around and around. 

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called, but her voice sounded small, muffled by the fog. Not knowing what else to do, she slowly walked in a direction picked at random. The ground was uneven beneath her bare feet and she almost stumbled several times. Dark shapes appeared out of the fog and Gabrielle relaxed when she realized they were only trees. The fog began to clear then and she saw she was in a forest, a forest clearing to be exact. "How did I get here?"

Only a thin layer of fog hovered above the ground now, hugging her ankles. Walking to the center of the clearing, she tilted her head back to see the sky. A full moon hung in the sky, shining like a great yellow disk. As she watched, the very upper tip of the moon turned bright red. Then the crimson color, as red as fresh blood, began to drip down the moon's surface.

Gasping, Gabrielle sunk to her knees on the cold ground. As frightened as she was, she couldn't take her eyes off the horrible sight. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears as she breathed too fast. More and more of the moon was covered in blood until no silver light remained. There was only the red.

"Surely it will drip off the moon and cover me as well!" Her panicked mind thought. She had never heard of such a thing happening before and could think of no reason for it now. How could blood get onto the moon? 

A moment later Gabrielle realized she was no longer alone. A pair of black boots stood in front of her. She absently noticed they were well made and shiny. Raising her green eyes, she saw black leather pants, a fancy scabbard with a sword hilt sticking out the top. Two leather belts circled the man's waist, one being the sword belt. Both were decorated with silver, the regular belt having a fancy silver belt buckle that seemed to be the head of a beast. Her eyes traveled higher up his impressive frame, finding well muscled arms and a black leather vest. Where the vest parted on his chest, she saw the faintest hint of hair. Expensive gauntlets decorated with silver and red gems circled both wrists. Then her eyes went all the way up ho his face. Wavy black hair, soft chocolate eyes, neatly trimmed beard and mustache. A silver earring sparkled in one ear. 

"Who ... who are you?" she asked as she gazed up at him, all of her fear vanishing.

"Come to me, Gabrielle." He spoke in a soft voice. "We belong together, for I am your destiny. When the moon is red, you will come to me."

"But how can I find you if I don't know who you are?" she asked, confused. 

"Come to me...." He said, then vanished. 

Gabrielle rose to her feet, twirling around. There had been no flash of light, no nothing. One minute he had been standing there as real as anyone else, then he had just disappeared. "As if he had never existed." 

The fog started to roll back in and everything, even the red moon, was lost to sight. Only his voice drifted to her on waves of air currents, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

"Come to me, Gabrielle."

***

Gabrielle awoke, surprised to find herself in her own bed. She stared up at the ceiling a moment, the dream fresh in her mind. Sitting up, she glanced around the room. Everything was as it should be. The rough pine dresser was against the wall with her scrolls on them, the window was partly open as she had left it the night before. Throwing off the rough, home spun sheets, she scrambled to her feet. The wooden plank floor was cool to the touch. Hurrying to the window, she slammed it shut. Turning so her back was to the window, she spoke to herself.

"I have a destiny."

She said the words slowly, trying them out. Then excitement built up when she realized what they meant. "I don't have to stay here in Poteidaia anymore!"

Her bedroom door flew open and her sister hurried in. "Oh good, you're up. Mother wants you to come and help us bake bread. If you're going to marry Perd, you better learn how to bake."

"Oh, Lila! I have the most wonderful news!" Gabrielle breathed, her green eyes sparkling like emeralds. 

"Please, Gabrielle, not that bard thing again!" Lila rolled her eyes. Strolling across Gabrielle's tiny bedroom, she flung open the closet door. Reaching inside, she pulled out a skirt and blouse. "Now hurry and get dressed!"

"I have a destiny!" Gabrielle explained as she held out the white skirt of her nightgown and twirled around. Her long blonde hair flung out behind her, the early morning sunlight turning each strand into spun gold. Stopping her spin, she hugged herself. "Isn't that wonderful? It came to me in a dream this morning. I was in this forest clearing and he came to me, my soulmate! He was handsome and tall and regale. You should have saw him. And those eyes! I have to find him!"

"It was only a dream, Gabrielle." Lila shook her head, a sad look in her eyes. "You have to get your head out of the clouds and out of those scrolls! They will be the ruin of you yet. You know what Father said about you and that bard thing. He'll have a real fit if you start blabbing about some imaginary lover!"

"He's not imaginary!" Gabrielle retorted angrily. Her hands clenched into fists. "I saw him! He told me to come to him."

"And did he leave a name? Say where he lives?" Lila asked, a smile on her lips. 

"Well, no..." Gabrielle admitted.

"See? I told you he's not real!" Lila smirked. "Now forget about this mysterious stranger and being a bard. A women's place is in the home, cooking and cleaning and caring for her babies. Proper women do NOT go strolling through forests and being bards!"

"You're only repeating what Father said." Gabrielle told her sister's back as Lila left the room. "Some of us have our own original thoughts, you know."

***

Gabrielle kneaded the stiff bread dough, her mind a million miles away. The thing was, she just didn't fit in. Oh, at first she had been too young to notice. But the older she grew, the gap between her and her peers grew greater. She just found life in Poteidaia so ... so ... boring! 

"Always the same old thing." She sighed as she folded the bread this way and that, pounded on it with her fists. Why did she have to bake bread for anyway? Why not just buy fresh loves from the baker? Besides, that's why the baker had a shop! And making bread took so long. First there was measuring  and mixing and kneading and pounding, then letting it rise, more pounding ... ugh! It just seemed such a big waste of time. Then one had to worry about the right temperatures in the oven, pulling it out without burning yourself. Would it be too hard, too soft, too chewy, goo in the center? Gabrielle paused for a moment and lifted her hands before her green eyes, frowning. Her hands were a real mess, coated in a thick layer of flour. It would take forever to get off. The darn stuff acted like glue! "Ah, if only I could see the world!"

"There will be no such talk in this house, young lady." Her father's voice said.

Gabrielle spun around only to find him standing behind her. "But why can't I be a bard, father? You know I can write! There's so much more to the world than this little town. I want to see the great cities, like Athens! The ocean with it's great white winged ships, to have an adventure!"

"I know you think I'm being cruel to you, daughter." Her father explained as he gently pushed her into a wooden chair. "But it's for your own good. It's just too dangerous for a lone women, even a group of women, to travel by themselves. There are crude men in the world who would dishonor you if they could. Some would even kill you. I'm sure you've heard the stories of warlords who raid villages. A lone woman traveling by herself would be an easy target. You will feel better after you are settled with a husband and a home to care for. Perd is a good young man and he'll take care of you."

"But a woman is more than just a baby maker! For I have a mind, too!" Gabrielle protested. It was so unfair that men could travel just because they had an extra piece of flesh on them. 

"Gabrielle, I don't know where you get these ideas from." Her father stared at her, a confused expression on his face. "If you would just try harder to be like the other young ladies..."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "They are so boorish! Thinking of only clothes and putting charcoal on their eyes, gossiping about the village boys at the well. They never had an original thought in their entire life."

I'll see you later. I need to go to town." Shaking his head, her father went outside to do his work. Out of his two children, Gabrielle was the one he didn't understand. Sometimes he thought her life would have been easier if she had been born male. 

Sighing, Gabrielle rose from the chair and started to pound on the mass of dough. She would use the time to think up a plan to find her soulmate. Although her mother could force her hands to make bread, she had no control over her thoughts. And that suited Gabrielle just fine.


	2. Chapter 2

"Gabrielle," Lila said sternly as she poked at the slice of bread on her plate. "You really need to keep your mind on your chores! Look how this bread turned out. There's dry flour in it because you didn't mix it enough, it's too hard and the center is a gooey mass! Why, I'm not sure how you even managed to create such a horrible mess."  
  
"Oh, sister, you act as if it's the end of the world!" Gabrielle shrugged off the complaint. She had spent her time kneading bread wisely and had decided to go see the Old Hag. Everyone in the town was scared of her, for they said she had powers of a witch. She supposedly lived in a haunted shack out in the woods somewhere. Gabrielle herself had never been there, but she was sure she could find it. It was rumored that sometimes certain town lads went to her for love spells ... or so the lads claimed. Gabrielle thought it could just be boasting on their part to show they had courage. Of course, she would be sensible and go during the day. She would make an appropriate excuse, like picking apples. "It's only bread!"  
  
"Gabrielle, you're going to be married soon." Her mother said as she struggled to slice another piece from the loaf. Hard bits fell onto the table from the outermost layer. But when the knife reached the center, it was like trying to cut thick tree sap. The sticky goo clung to the metal blade, gumming up the teeth. Frustrated, her mother yanked the knife out. Long sticky strands stretched from the bread up to the knife. The farther away she pulled the knife, the longer the strands grew. "Oh, this is impossible! What did you put in here, cheese?"  
  
"I wanted to try something new. That's how things are invented!" Gabrielle replied smoothly. She didn't see what the big fuss was about. If they wanted her to learn to cook, why couldn't she experiment as well? Did her mother think people were created with a recipe for bread? That Zeus came down and said "Here, this is how you make bread and this is how you make wine and this is how you make cheese"? Of course not! People invented it by themselves, sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose. "Just tear hunks off and it'll do fine."  
  
Her father waved his hand, dismissing the subject. "I heard some important news in town today. Now Gabrielle, I want you to pay attention to what I have to say!"  
  
"Yes, Father." Gabrielle picked up the loaf of her newly created cheese bread and tore off a big hunk. She smiled at the look of horror on her sister's face. In a way, she felt sorry for Lila. Her sister thought everything had to be done just so, like bread being neatly cut with straight edges. But that meant never really enjoying it. Many a time Gabrielle had bought freshly baked bread from the baker in town, eating it on the green hill overlooking town by tearing off chunks.  
  
"A dangerous time has come and you all must be certain to be inside before dusk." Her father said in a serious voice.  
  
"Were warlords spotted in the area?" her mother asked, her spoon dropping out of her hand, forgotten. It clinked as it hit the plate, then bouncing off onto the wooden table. "How will we ever defend ourselves? We are just simple people!"  
  
"No, nothing like that." Her father soothed, a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Several of the men spotted a bad omen last night, in the sky. The red evening star."  
  
Her mother blinked, surprised. "Are you sure? That hasn't been seen for ... decades! No, longer than that. Why, it must be over a hundred years. I remember my elders talking about it years ago."  
  
"Well, it was there last night." Her father assured.  
  
"Wait! I don't understand." Gabrielle leaned forward, the cheese bread and the rest of the food on her plate forgotten. When her father had mentioned red, she immediately thought of her dream. Was it possible the red moon in her dream represented this red star? Surely it couldn't be a coincidence! "Why is this red star bad news? I mean, it IS just a star, right? What harm could it do to us?"  
  
"There will be blood sacrifices to the Gods." Her father informed her, his face grave. "Of course, they will only want the blood of the innocent, of virgins. Since no one wants to willingly sacrifice their young daughters, they will be taken by force. You must be on guard, Gabrielle. Stay near the house and don't wonder off! If warlords take you, I won't be able to save you."  
  
"But don't we worship the Gods? I know we attend the temples and leave gifts for them. Why would they harm us?" Gabrielle's mind was whirling with the new information. She had always been curious about the Greek Gods, studying their statues in the temples they visited. Often she annoyed the priests who worked there by asking too many questions. She wanted to see the Gods and Goddesses, to know where Ambrosia came from and what it really was. And if the Gods were descendants of the Titans, why weren't they Titans, too? And where had the Titans come from? She just had SO many questions!  
  
"Yes, we worship some of the Greek Gods," Her father shook his head sadly. Gabrielle could be very naive at times, think everything and everyone was good. He hated to pop her bubble. "But as you know, there are some we don't. Like the God of War. The blood sacrifice would be to him, to make him stronger. He is a cruel, heartless creature, Gabrielle. And now that the red star is here, his cold-blooded soldiers will be searching the countryside for the perfect sacrifice."  
  
"I'll promise to be careful, Father." Gabrielle told her parents. And she meant it, too. But this War God, whoever he was, wasn't going to interfere in her search for her soulmate! It was clear from his dress that he was a nobleman, perhaps a young prince of one of the kingdoms. Whoever he was, it was clear the time to go to him was near. She would just have to be more careful, is all. Gabrielle allowed a faint smile to turn her lips. This was turning out to be the adventure she always wanted!  
  
A mysterious handsome lover, danger lurking in every shadow, strange omens in the night sky....  
  
It would make a fabulous story to tell in Athens at a Bard Convention.  
  
Yes, her days in Poteidaia were nearing an end. Soon all her dreams would come true! 


	3. Chapter 3

Gabrielle sat on her bed, dressed in her nightgown. She could have been sleeping or writing in one of the scrolls she bought with her own money. But she wasn't. Truth was, she was too nervous and jumpy to do either.  
  
"No, Gabrielle, just forget about it!" She whispered to herself as her eyes strayed to the window. She knew it would be easy to sneak out. Her bedroom was on the ground floor with nothing but soft grass under her window. Heck, she had done it a few times before. But this time it was different. All the other escapes had been innocent in nature. Often she just went outside to be by herself and stargaze at the wonders in the night sky. Sometimes she even danced in the moonlight. But unlike some girls in the village, she had never snuck out to do improper things with a boy. She liked Perd, but had never been intimate with him and he had never pushed her on the subject. Come to think of it, she wasn't even sure now that she wanted to marry him. Just because they had been good friends as children didn't mean they loved each other as man and wife. And he did seem a bit slow in the head, like most of the village men. Mentally, he bored her. "I guess we aren't such a good match after all."  
  
But would the man from her dream be the perfect match, as she thought he would be? Would he be intelligent or another muscle man with no brains? More important, was he worth sneaking out for?  
  
Gabrielle weighed the options. "I could either sit here and let my parents decide my future or I could go out and claim it myself."  
  
Rising from the bed, she walked to the window. She knew that everyone in the house was asleep now. No one would look for her until morning. "Surely be then I'll be back. It's not that far."  
  
Or that's what she thought anyway.  
  
Gabrielle opened the window and stuck her head out. It was very dark outside, but she was used to that from her stargazing. Walking through strange woods in the dark would be a different matter.  
  
Still she hesitated. Gabrielle had never really disobeyed her parents before. Oh, small things, like the bread, she shrugged aside. But a big matter, like safety, was a whole different ballgame. Those she took seriously. And no way did she want to end up on the altar of the War God as a sacrifice.  
  
"Oh, poo! Those warlords won't see me." She reassured herself as she quickly gathered a few items together inside a pillowcase. She wasn't stupid enough to go into the woods without food or drink. And she would stay on the path. She would be extra careful, listening for sounds. Warlords wore armor, so logic told her they must make lots of noise when they walk, clanking like the pots in the kitchen. She reasoned if she did all that, she would be OK. And once she got an answer from the Old Hag, she would hurry straight home. "Besides, with Greece so big what are the odds any of those soldiers would be near here?"  
  
Little did Gabrielle know that the soldiers had a description of the girl they were seeking. Her father didn't tell her everything, for he didn't want to frighten her. Gabrielle presumed there would be many sacrifices to the War God when in truth there would be only one.  
  
A very specific one.  
  
After changing out of her nightgown into more suitable clothing, she tossed her pillowcase outside. Throwing her leg over the wooden sill, Gabrielle slid out. Landing on the soft grass, she picked up the case. Glancing around to be certain she was alone, she hurried through the field behind her house. Stopping for a moment, she looked back at her home. She was overcome with such a powerful feeling that she almost ran back. It was a crazy thought and she didn't know where it had come from, but she felt like she might never see her home again. She shook her head, her blonde hair flying around her shoulders. "Don't be silly! You'll be back in your warm bed in the morning. Its just guilt you're feeling, for disobeying Father and sneaking out."  
  
Gabrielle knew where the woods started, out beyond the big orchard. She had once gone up to the very edge of the forest, peering into the thick mass of trees. But that had been years ago, when she had been a child. At the time, it had been mid-summer and the forest had been alive with vibrant green. She had wanted to go inside but her Father wouldn't hear of it. He had claimed it was too dangerous for a little girl. But in her imagination, the forest was where magical creatures lived: unicorns, faeries and other creatures of good. When she told her parents this, they had laughed and said she had a big imagination. But Gabrielle hadn't thought it was funny. If centaurs and satyrs were real, why not unicorns and faeries?  
  
Gabrielle snapped out of her old memories. The forest stretched out in front of her now, a blacker shadow against the black sky. Slowly she approached it, pausing often to listen. She tried to walk silently, but no matter how carefully she placed her feet there was always something under her shoes making noise! She frowned, trying to see the ground in front of her for a clear path that would be more silent. But to her untrained eye, it all looked the same. Snapping and crunching, she reached the forest edge.  
  
"Now where is that path?" She asked herself, forgetting the need for silence. She remembered, a hand flying to smack her on the mouth. She froze, one hand gripping the pillowcase and the other cupping the nose and mouth. Reprimanding herself for being so careless, she inched along the forest edge until a dark path appeared.  
  
And dark it was. The black silhouettes of trees were on either side of the path, their naked branches scraping the cloud filled sky overhead. Her overactive imagination turned them into bony fingers reaching up from the grave. The wind howled, shaking the branches. A few scattered leaves drifted down to the cold earth. Gabrielle shivered, wrapping her arms tighter around herself. Not only was it a lot colder out here than she had thought, but the path looked so spooky!  
  
Maybe if she had a friend with her it wouldn't be so bad. But no one she knew would do this sort of thing. And if she told them about the man she saw in her dreams, they would just laugh at her. She thanked Zeus that her sister hadn't told anyone, especially their parents.  
  
Gabrielle began to realize that there was a big difference between reading about adventure and actually having one. It was good and fine to read about crawling through dark woods at night when you're snug in your warm bed, a plate of cookies resting on your legs and a fire roaring in the hearth. But to be actually out here...  
  
"I have to remember all of these sensations, how things look. For how else can I write something I never experienced?" Bravely Gabrielle stepped onto the creepy path. Her nerves were screaming at her to go back home to the safety of her bed. Her mind was convinced that a threat, whether man or beast, hid behind every tree and in every shadow. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears, her palms growing damp. The trees creaked and groaned as the wind blew through the bare branches, quickening her step. A dark shape flew at her, seeming to spring from the air itself. Gabrielle caught a flash of luminous eyes and sharp talons, and then she was off down the path in a full blown panic.  
  
She ran as quickly as she could, her heavy pillowcase thumping against her thigh with every jarring step. Her breath came in loud gasps, her hair billowing out behind her like a cloak. She paid little attention to where she was going; she just felt the need to flee from danger. Without warning, her feet slid out from underneath her as she stepped onto a slick patch of wet leaves. Falling heavily to the cold ground, she lay there a moment gasping for air. Her breath hung before her in the form of white smoke, which was just barely visible. Gingerly she sat up, stretching her legs. She knew one of her knees had been skinned because of the intense burning sensation. "Some bard you'll make! You can't even walk through a simple woods without getting frightened."  
  
The moon choose that moment to break free of the heavy clouds blocking the sky. Silver light shone down onto the forest, blanketing it with gentle light. Carefully Gabrielle got to her feet, testing her legs out. Once she was sure everything was working as it should, she took the opportunity to glance around. She knew she had covered a lot of distance in her mad dash, so maybe she was near the witch's house.  
  
Doubt once again flickered through her mind. She admitted she knew nothing about the woman except town rumors and gossip. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go see her. What if she really WAS a witch? The evil variety, that is? But Gabrielle couldn't bring herself to believe that. She was convinced there was good in everyone and that the woman would help her. The village just scorned the Old Hag just because she was different from them. Or maybe she really had a bit of true power and the villagers feared her because of it, not trusting what they didn't understand.  
  
"Just like they don't understand me." Gabrielle spotted a small cottage made from stones hidden among the trees, smoke rising from its chimney. "And I better ask what her name is. I can't go calling her the Old Hag. That's hardly polite at all."  
  
Stepping off the path, she slowly made her way through the thick tangle of trees. Several times she had to stop to free her hair from branches. The idea her hair could get tangled on things had never occurred to her. But instead of depressing her, it made her happy. Gabrielle considered it all part of her adventure, something to write in her scrolls.  
  
Finally the house stood before her, nestled among the trees. The door, arched at the top, was made from boards with two strips of metal running across its width. The stones that made the house were of the round variety, ranging in size and color. Some white stuff was between the various stones and held it all together. Her green eyes moved upward, to the roof. Taking a few steps back for a better look, she was amazed at what she saw. It certainly wasn't a straw roof, but made from some flat gray material. Gabrielle wasn't sure what it was, but it certainly wasn't wood or stone or plant material. The stuff seemed to come in small square pieces, all overlapping. And when the moonlight shone on it, it sparkled!  
  
Gabrielle was tempted to take a peek in the backyard, but knew it wouldn't be right. She had come to ask the woman for advice, so she better do it and stop gawking. Taking a final look at the magical roof, she walked up to the door and knocked.  
  
A moment later the door opened and a blast of warmth hit her full in the face. The very next thing that got her attention was the warm yellow light that spilled from the doorway, so unlike dim candlelight or a hearth fire. Gabrielle also noted this light didn't flicker. First then her attention went to the woman herself. 


	4. Chapter 4

The woman was not what Gabrielle had expected at all. For one thing, she wasn't that old. From the talk in the village, Gabrielle had expected your everyday witch: old wrinkled skin, a long nose, warts, and long gray hair. Yet the woman standing before her was no older than forty -- with curly copper hair no less! She wore a white peasant top that left the shoulders bare and a long brightly printed skirt. Big chunky necklaces added more color, as did a scarf tied around tied around her head, the two ends sticking up like rabbit ears. In all her years living in the village, Gabrielle had never seen anyone dress this way.  
  
"Let me guess." The woman spoke, a smile on her face. "You want your future read. Or else you want a potion to get your young man's interest. But with you, I'm betting on the first one."  
  
"How ... how did you know that?" Gabrielle asked, surprised.  
  
"Well, what kind of witch would I be if I didn't know why you're here?" The woman replied. "Why don't you come in and I'll be happy to read your future."  
  
Gabrielle stepped over the threshold into the witch's house, her eyes wide. Everything about the house was so ... odd. The rug on the floor was like nothing she had ever seen before. With each step her feet seemed to sink into it. And it was so big! It seemed to stretch from wall to wall, but surely that was impossible! Then there was the furniture. Gabrielle wasn't even sure what to call the things, for they seemed to be stuffed chairs. She touched one cautiously and it was so soft! Glancing up, she saw the light came from a thing hanging on the ceiling, yet it wasn't a candle.  
  
"My name is Molly." The witch offered as she sat down on the plump sofa. "I can see you're transfixed by my home. You see, I'm from the future. The far future."  
  
"The future?" Gabrielle's mouth dropped open again. "How did you get here?"  
  
"I have a few powers. See, my father is Apollo." Molly explained as she poured two cups of hot tea. "I came here because I wanted to get to know classic Greece better. I may be only a Demigod, but I inherited a few powers from my father. One of them is the ability to time travel. Mainly, I just came here to observe and see how things are. Anyone less honest would try to make money on artifacts, but I wouldn't do that. In fact, I'd like to get to know my family better."  
  
"Your father is a God?" Gabrielle slowly walked around the living room. Stopping at a bookcase, she carefully pulled a tome off the shelf. Opening it, she stared in wonder at the printed pages. Although she couldn't read it, Gabrielle knew that she held the work of some future bard in her hands. "You have bards in the future?"  
  
"Oh, yes! But they call themselves authors." Molly sipped her tea. "Actually, many of them make very good money. Some are a lot richer than I am."  
  
"And are woman allowed to be ... authors?" Gabrielle asked as she turned the book this way and that. She studied the binding, ran her hands over the smooth plastic jacket, sniffed the pages. She flipped through the pages, amazed at how many there were. It would take her years to write something like this. Her green eyes went back to the bookcase. There were so many books! Seeming them all together was staggering the mind.  
  
"Of course!" Molly patted the sofa cushion next to her. "Now why don't you come and sit down? Have some tea."  
  
Placing the book back onto the shelf, Gabrielle sat down on the cushion. Immediately she felt her body sink into the soft material. It was the oddest sensation she had ever felt. Why, even her bed at home was nothing like this. "This is like sitting on a cloud!"  
  
"I never thought of it like that, but I suppose you're right. Now give me your hand." Molly held out her hand to Gabrielle. "I'm physic, so I can pick up on things. And I can read palms. So we might as well start with that."  
  
Gabrielle had no idea what palm reading was, but it didn't surprise her. She was beginning to realize that most things in Molly's home was new to her. Even the tea had tasted exotic. Gabrielle held out her hand. "I want to find my soulmate. I saw in a dream the other night, but I don't know who he is...."  
  
Molly grasped Gabrielle's hand and closed her eyes. As soon as she had a solid grip, the images started to form in her mind. Normally Molly had to concentrate hard to see anything, but these images came at her so fast, with such clarity it was amazing.  
  
Fog. A dark forest. A tall dark man. A moon covered in blood.  
  
Then the images went forward, to the future.  
  
Molly's body began to shake. She flung her head around, her eyes snapping open. Yet it was clear she didn't see Gabrielle or the room around her. She began to whimper.  
  
"What ... what do you see?" Gabrielle asked, frightened now. The woman was acting so strange it was scaring her.  
  
Molly yanked her hand away from Gabrielle. Then she raised her palm to face the would-be bard.  
  
Gabrielle grasped in fright.  
  
Molly's palm was covered in fresh blood!  
  
Turning over her own hand, Gabrielle was shocked to see that it too was sticky with the warm substance. Raising her eyes to the witch, she asked a finale question. "What did you see?"  
  
"Your death." Molly replied. 


	5. Chapter 5

"What ..." Shocked, Gabrielle stumbled to her feet. She stared at the blood on her hand. Thoughts raced through her mind, one idea leapfrogging over another. It was almost too jumbled together for her to think straight.  
  
She wanted to believe that it was some elaborate trick Molly had played on her. But Gabrielle couldn't see how that was possible. She had seen the witch's hand before she had grasped it. Molly's hand had been clean. Besides, the woman had no motive to play a trick on her. She had seen the frightened and surprised expression on her face. The look had been Genuine. And her home, if oddly furnished, was light and warm. This was not the dark home of an evil person that practiced the Dark Arts.  
  
It was beginning to sink in that this was REAL, that there were soldiers out there hunting for a blood sacrifice, hunting for HER. And all because of some blood thirsty War God!  
  
What did he want with her anyway? She didn't even know him, for Zeus' sake! Why couldn't he mind his own business? How was she supposed to find the man from her dreams with him butting in all the time?  
  
Gabrielle's face paled as another even darker thought occurred to her.  
  
What if the man from her dreams WAS the War God?  
  
"No, it can't be!" Gabrielle's blood-covered hand flew to her mouth. When she removed it, there were bright red streaks across her cheek, lips and chin. Yet it all matched! The expensive clothing he had worn, the intense look in his eyes, the sword at his hip. How could she have been so stupid? The man wasn't her soulmate he only wanted her blood! Why couldn't she have seen that before? Gabrielle reached down and picked up her pillowcase. "I ... I have to go. I shouldn't have come."  
  
"Wait!" Molly said as she jumped off the sofa. "I didn't read your palm yet. You can't totally rely on those visions, you know. It could have meant something else!"  
  
"I'm sorry, but I really have to get home." Gabrielle stumbled to the door, her feet not quite working for some reason. She reached the door and gripped the knob in both hands, struggling to open it. "My parents would be worried sick if they found out I snuck out!"  
  
"You're in shock. I can't let you wonder around the woods at night.'" Molly said as she came up from behind her. She gently put a hand on Gabrielle's upper arm. "Why don't you spend the night here? I have an extra bedroom."  
  
"No! I have to get home!" Gabrielle yanked on the door and it flew open. Gripping the pillowcase tightly in one hand, she flew outside like demons from Tartarus were after her. After the intense heat inside Molly's house, the outside air felt like ice and Gabrielle shivered. Without looking back, she raced through the trees. Sharp branches scratched at her skin as they partook of her life-giving blood. The sharp stings made her think of him. "How could I be so stupid?"  
  
She heard Molly calling her to come back, but Gabrielle ignored the pleas. Forcing her way through the last clump of trees, she stepped out onto the path. Gabrielle clung to her beating heart within her breast as she gasped for air. Pausing, she looked one way up the path, then the other way. The moon was still high in the night sky, so it was easy to see in both directions. They both looked the same and equally spooky.  
  
"Now which way did I come?" Gabrielle asked herself as she took a few steps in one direction, and then paused. "Was it this way or the other way?"  
  
Gabrielle tried to remember a map of the area, but couldn't. She had no idea how far these woods extended or what was on the other side. Logic told her they had to end somewhere, with more towns just like her own on the other end. If she knew the size of the woods, she could take a chance going the wrong way. That way she could always head back and still be in bed before morning. But if the woods were extensive... "I could be lost for days!"  
  
She studied the two directions more closely, this time ignoring the scary trees and studying the ground. Isn't that what hunters did, look at the ground? The tugging pain from her scraped knee reminded her of the slick patch of leaves. If she could find it, it should have a big skin mark on it. It wasn't much, but it was all Gabrielle could think of. She had just found a likely looking patch of leaves when voices floated to her ears.  
  
Gabrielle froze where she was crouching near the patch of leaves. She tilted her head, listening. The moon had vanished behind a thick cloud so it was dark again.  
  
"She went this way." A man's voice said.  
  
"Lord Ares won't be pleased if she gets away." Another man's voice replied. "Her father claimed not to know where she had gone."  
  
"She won't get away," the first man reassured. "Look at this trail. Even a blind man could follow it. She didn't even try to hide her escape path. We'll catch her soon enough for the ceremony."  
  
A chill crept down Gabrielle's back when she realized it was the soldiers looking for her. And they were coming from Poteidaia! Gabrielle rose from her crouch and started running down the path the other way. She had to escape, before they found her!  
  
"Listen to that!" one of the men shouted. "She's just up ahead!"  
  
"Let's get her!" Another shouted.  
  
Gabrielle heard the loud clink of armor as the men started to chase her. She ran blindly down the dark path, the trees only darker shadows whipping by. She gasped through her open mouth, the freezing air burning her lungs. She thought it would be easy to outrun them because of the heavy armor they wore, but to her dismay they were closing the gap between them. The real problem was she was out of shape!  
  
OH, please, don't let them catch me! Gabrielle thought as she ran as fast as she could. The path turned several times and she just barely missed running headlong into trees, spotting them at the last moment. Then the moon came out from its hiding place among the clouds and silvery light shone down on her.  
  
"There she is!" One of the soldiers shouted.  
  
Still Gabrielle ran on. Her side was aching now and her boots felt like heavy hunks of metal tied around her ankles. And the pillowcase felt like it weighed a ton. She wanted to drop it but didn't dare. The only things she owned were in there, for who knows what the soldiers had done to her home, her family? Had they killed her parents, her sister? Did they burn down the entire town when they couldn't find her?  
  
A faint glimmer of hope burned in Gabrielle's chest. The woods were thinning out! And just ahead was a wide field of grass! With an extra burst of speed she didn't know she had, Gabrielle ran out of the woods. She charged up the steep grass hill, expecting to find a sleeping town on the other side. Her tired feet slipped on the wet grass and she fell forward. But she put her hands out and forced herself back to her feet. She scrambled up the rest of the way to the top, and then skidded to a halt.  
  
She was at the edge of a steep cliff. A river was far below, twisting its way like a ribbon through sharp rocks.  
  
"We got you now, girl." One of the soldiers called as he started up the grassy slope. "There's no where to go, so you might as well give yourself up."  
  
Gabrielle frantically glanced behind herself and saw the soldier coming closer. Stepping closer to the edge of the cliff, she searched for a safe way down. The only thing she saw was a root poking its way out of the cliff face. But even if she could get to it, there was no way down. Perhaps a skilled climber could have made it safely, but Gabrielle had never tried to climb a cliff. She had no reason to.  
  
So she would fight!  
  
Gabrielle spun around, facing the approaching warrior. He wore black leather armor, his arms reaching for her. "Stay away! Come any closer and I'll jump! I swear I will!"  
  
The warrior stopped a few feet away. "Now don't do anything foolish. You don't want to jump off that cliff. You'll never survive it. I know it and you know it. For one, that water is freezing. It's a lot colder than the air is. Second, there's a waterfall farther down that river. You don't want to go over that now, do you? Smash up your bones good."  
  
"Well, I'm certainly not going to be a sacrifice!" Gabrielle stepped closer to the edge, her back still to the cliff. Gabrielle knew she was just stalling for time. All around her she could see the other soldiers spanning out, blocking any escape route. If she would have been smart, she should have hid herself in the woods. Running had been stupid, but she had panicked ... again!  
  
Gabrielle, you're always doing the wrong thing! You need to think first! Her sister's voice popped into her head. Where was Lila now? Lying dead in a pool of blood?  
  
"There's no where you can go, so why don't you just give up?" the warrior repeated as he inched closer.  
  
Just about now is when the hero is supposed to show up in the story. Gabrielle thought to herself. Where is a hero when you need one? And more important, could I really jump off this cliff? Do I even want to be asking myself this?  
  
Just then strong arms closed around her waist. "Got you!" 


	6. Chapter 6

"See? This is what happens to you when you want adventure! You get carted away like an animal." Gabrielle sighed as she stared out the bars of the wheeled cage she was locked in. Very little time had passed since her capture, maybe only an hour. the moon was still in the sky, it's single glowing eye watching her progress down some bumpy dirt road.  
  
Except now it was looking darker somehow. Gabrielle stared up at it, studying it for a long moment. Yes, it definitely had an orange cast to it.  
  
"Great, just great! Soon it'll be turning blood red." She mumbled.  
  
Just then the wagon jolted to a stop.  
  
"We're here." The warlord informed her as he started to unlock the door to the cage, one of his eyes having a fresh dark circle around it.  
  
"You should be more polite to people, you know. Locking people up in cages isn't very nice." Gabrielle informed him as she stepped out of the cage onto the ground. "You'd get a lot less black eyes that way."  
  
The warlord frowned, raising a hand halfway to his sore eye. "I'm only doing my job. Lord Ares wants you, so he's getting you."  
  
With a soldier holding onto each arm, Gabrielle was led into the Ares' temple.  
  
The temple, she noted, was dark and drab. The building itself was made from gray stone. Inside the only light was provided from dozens upon dozens of lit candles and torches. Without ceremony, she was hauled to the very front of the temple. She was shoved up against a huge black stone that someone had left a bloody sword on. After a moment, Gabrielle realized this was the War God's altar.  
  
This is just great, Gabrielle. She thought to herself. That will be your blood on some sword if you don't think of some way to get out of this mess. So you better start thinking!  
  
"Lord Ares, we have the one you desired." The Warlord with the black eye informed the empty temple.  
  
Gabrielle was about to ask him whom did he think he was talking to when a flash of blue light appeared. After the light faded, the handsome man from her dream stood there. Gabrielle gasped in amazement, for she had never seen a real God before or how they could teleport. She knew she should be afraid of him, yet she wasn't. The truth was, even in the bad lighting, she felt attracted to him. And that in turn made her feel ashamed, for surely one shouldn't feel that way towards a God, certainly not towards this God!  
  
And he wanted to kill her, didn't he?  
  
She watched him silently as he walked towards her. His movements reminded her of the cats around the village: smooth, graceful and with a hint of danger. All that black leather he wore only added to it. Nor had he taken his eyes off her since the moment he popped in from the aether. The candlelight reflected off his silver earring, which Gabrielle noted was shaped like a sword. How appropriate for a War God!  
  
What's the matter with you, Gabrielle? She asked herself. He's the God of War, remember? He is NOT a nice guy! You shouldn't be standing there at his altar thinking how good he looks; you should be running the other way! What good is looking good if he has a bad personality? And wanting a blood sacrifice certainly counts as a bad personality.  
  
But there must be more to it. Gabrielle replied to herself. For out of all the young women in Greece, why did he choose me?  
  
Ares chuckled. "A little hard to handle, Struddle?"  
  
"No, Lord Ares!" The Warlord replied, a sheepish expression on his face. "I startled her is all."  
  
Ares laughed. "If an unarmed woman with no fighting experience can give you a black eye, what will happen to you in real combat? I think you better go practice more. NOW!"  
  
"Yes, Lord Ares!" Struddle bowed and left the temple in a rush, his men right behind him.  
  
Gabrielle heard the door of the temple slam and realized she was alone with Ares. Only the altar with the bloody sword was between them. "Why did you have me brought here, Ares? You're not really going to sacrifice me, are you?"  
  
Long moments passed and Ares said nothing. He just smiled at her, which made Gabrielle nervous. She started to shift her weight from one foot to the other as the seconds ticked off. Waves of heat formed in the middle of her back and along the sides of her legs as sweat formed. She wanted to drum her fingers on the altar but didn't dare. This waiting for a reply was killing her!  
  
"Yes, my dear." Ares finally replied. "I do need your blood, you know." 


	7. Chapter 7

"NO!" Gabrielle cried in shock. Her knees went weak and she was forced to lean against the altar. "You just can't go around killing people, even if you are the God of War. It's just not right!"  
  
"That's what I always loved about you, Gabrielle. You got spunk! And you're not afraid to tell me off. You know, treat me like a God. Saying stuff like that idiot Struddel does." Ares continued to smile as he walked around to her side of the altar. "Now come along, my dear. I waited for this moment a long time."  
  
"Wait!" Gabrielle cried. "What do you mean that you always loved me? We just met! You can't love someone you don't know."  
  
"Oh, but I DO know you, Gabrielle. And you know me. If you want to know more, I guess you'll just have to follow me know, won't you?" Ares told her as he headed back towards the spot where he had first appeared.  
  
Gabrielle watched him, a confused look on her face. She noticed for the first time the large throne chair sitting opposite the altar. Ares walked past the throne and disappeared through a doorway. She waited a few seconds and he didn't reappear. She was completely alone. If she wanted to, she could make a run for it. That is, if the temple doors were unlocked and if those big goons weren't waiting outside!  
  
But she wanted to know what Ares had meant about them knowing each other, too.  
  
In the end her curiosity won out and Gabrielle moved away from the black stone altar. Following the path Ares had taken; she cautiously peered through the doorway. It wasn't another room like she had expected, but a pair of descending narrow stone stairs. From where she stood she couldn't see the bottom. Stepping onto the first step, she started going down. When she got onto the fourth step down, the door above her slammed close. She paused and glanced back up towards the surface, only to see a smooth stone wall. The door had disappeared!  
  
"This is really smart, Gabrielle." She told herself. "Following a God that admitted he wants your blood into the basement of his temple ... "  
  
She reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the room at the bottom, only to find Ares waiting for her. The room itself, she noted, was rather empty. Besides the usual torches on the walls, there was just a table and a big silver chalice. "Well, I'm here. Are you going to explain how we know each other now?"  
  
"Of course." Ares replied as he ran his fingers over the chalice. "First you have to realize that the Gods are like you mortals in many ways. We start our life as a baby, go through childhood, become adults. We fall in love, we marry, have children. We have feelings, too: anger, sadness, compassion, friendship ... just like mortals. And also like mortals, we need to ... feed.  
  
Gabrielle walked up to Ares where he stood fingering the chalice. "We're all taught in school that the Gods eat Ambrosia and drink Nectar. But that still doesn't answer my question."  
  
"And you never asked yourself exactly what Ambrosia is or where it comes from?" Ares smiled as he moved closer, still holding the chalice. His dark eyes never left her green ones. "Or about Nectar?"  
  
"Well, I am a bit curious." Gabrielle admitted. The way Ares was looking at her was making her nervous. He reminded her of a cat even more now, a cat that was hunting for its next meal! "What do you really want?"  
  
"Short and sweet, huh? I like it!" Ares offered her the chalice, then took a dagger from his belt and tossed it onto the table. His grin widened, showing snowy white teeth. "Give me your blood."  
  
Gabrielle blinked at the War God. "So you're not going to tie me on your altar and run me through with a sword? No white dress and bathing in perfume? No dagger through the heart, all that stuff? You just want ME to put my own blood into this cup?"  
  
"I never said I wanted to kill you, Gabrielle." Ares stared at her. "I just want some of your blood so I can make some Ambrosia!"  
  
Relief swept through her, followed quickly by a new suspicion. "Wait. Are you saying Ambrosia is made from mortal BLOOD? From MY blood? And you just expect me to donate it, put it inside your cup?"  
  
"Gabrielle, I'm the God of War. Last time I checked that was a bloody job!" Ares rolled his eyes. "Now be a good girl and give me the blood. Do we have to go through this same conversation each and every time?"  
  
"But this is the first time!" Gabrielle watched Ares suspiciously. For all she knew, he might possess a pair of fangs and try to bite her! "I don't remember ever talking to you before in my entire life!"  
  
"But in your past lives you did. You stood right here in this very room. You even had the same name, the same hair, same green eyes ... need I go on?" Ares asked. He picked up the dagger from the table, holding it in his hand. "Shall we get on with it?"  
  
"Out of all the women in Greece, why my blood?" Gabrielle asked, her eyes watching the dagger. She didn't know what she should do. She had been expecting him to kill her outright in some ceremony. But that wasn't what was happening at all. Should she give him the blood? If she did, would he let her go then? Or would he keep her around for future snacking?  
  
"You were my very first High Priestess in my very first temple. I loved you, you know. You were devoted to me and gave me power. More important, you changed my heart. Especially after what my parents put me through in that pit. You bring out the compassion in me and without you at my side I revert to a cold heartless monster intent only on war. But I don't like being that person, Gabrielle. But no matter how hard I struggle; I can only be compassionate for a limited amount of time after you're gone. The special Ambrosia helps me control my tendencies when you're not around just like I help others control their aggressive feelings."  
  
"I ... I had no idea!" Gabrielle blurted. The idea that she had lived before was amazing. The idea that she had served as Ares' High Priestess was even more astounding. To see him every day, to talk to him ... "And after I give the blood I'm free to go?"  
  
"Yes, you're free to go. I can only collect it when the red star is in the sky anyway. Otherwise it'll stay blood and won't turn into the magical Ambrosia." Ares continued to hold the dagger out, waiting patently. "But I'd hope you'd stay with me. For you being with me is far better tonic than any Ambrosia!"  
  
Perhaps I was right the first time. Gabrielle thought. Ares is my soulmate!  
  
"And you wouldn't mind if I want to be a bard, that I want to see the world?" She asked.  
  
"Gabrielle, stay with me and I'll be your personal bodyguard! I'll show you places on the other side of the world that mortals haven't even dreamed of yet! And I'll happily buy you all the scrolls and ink you could ever desire, only if you'd stay with me." Ares promised, love in his eyes.  
  
"And my family? They're OK?" She asked, remembering what the warlord had said.  
  
"Your family is fine and if you want, we can go visit them tomorrow." Ares told her with a grin. "I suppose I should tell your Father of my intentions to court you."  
  
Court her! Oh my Zeus, he's serious! Gabrielle thought.  
  
Gabrielle started to laugh as she reached for the dagger. "Poor Lila will be so shocked when she finds out you're real. When I told her about my dream, she said you didn't exist and that I was crazy for chasing after it."  
  
"Gabrielle, one should always chase after dreams!" Ares allowed her to take the dagger from him. "For dreams are what build the future."  
  
"To our future together!" Gabrielle cut herself on the arm lightly and watched the bright red blood fill the cup. It didn't require very much, for the chalice itself was magical, just a few teaspoons full. Within minutes, the tabletop was filled with red Ambrosia.  
  
Ares pulled out a little wooden box from inside his vest. He opened it and offered it to her. "And this, my dear, is for you. Regular Ambrosia so we can be together always. I won't make the same mistake I did the other times in the past."  
  
Gabrielle peered inside the box. The single piece of Ambrosia within was a deep golden color, like honey. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt like she was going to cry. She couldn't believe he was offering this to her!  
  
"Keep it for later." Gabrielle told him. "I think we should go visit my family first, while I'm still mortal. By now they must be worried sick!"  
  
"OK," Ares stuck the little box back into his vest, and then gathered Gabrielle into his arms. "Let's go see your family."  
  
In a flash of blue light, the two popped off to Poteidaia.  
  
THE END 


End file.
